Lobbyists own the Bush Administration

Lobbyists Held Party for Bush Telecommunications Official
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

ASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (AP) ó The Bush administration's top official for telecommunications policy let lobbyists for wireless companies help pay for a
private reception at her home and 10 days later urged a policy change that benefited their industry, according to documents and interviews.

The official, Nancy Victory, an assistant commerce secretary, said she regarded the lobbyists as friends and cleared the arrangement in advance with
her department's ethics office. She did not report the party, held in 2001, as a gift on her government ethics disclosure form.

"My friends paid for this party out of their personal money," Ms. Victory said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Ms. Victory said it was "ridiculous" to draw a connection between the party and her letter 10 days later to the Federal Communications Commission
urging an immediate end to a decade-old restriction on how much of a region's wireless spectrum a company could control.

Another Bush Administration case of a corporate backer or lobbyist writting the laws which benefit their bottom line and screw Americans.
So which is more ridiculous: An Assistant Secretary of the US government not knowing what Quid Pro Quo means OR trying to say that it was perfectly
legal since they paid for it with their own money?

EVERY Administration in recent times...it's not just confined to Bush or even just one party. Both the left, and the right have their lobbyists, and
own the politicians. Without tough and enforcable campaign finance reform, this will continue to be the case. However, that will never happen,
because the people who have to vote on it, would be the ones hurt by it! It's like expecting Congress to give themselves a paycut!

IS that your only resonse to everything, even though it's wrong, that "Clinton did it too"!?!?
Wake up already! You'll give this oligarchy loving scumbag Bush every pass possible because why!?! Because you hate Clinton!?!?! Some American you
are.

In every department of the Bush Administration, former lobbyists either RUN THE DEPARTMENT or come FROM THE INDUSTRY THAT WAS REGULATED BY THAT
DEPARTMENT....you see nothing wrong with that alont the lines of the 'fox guarding the hen house'?!?

Forget about who is president and look at the facts:
A lobbyist pays for a party thrown by a person in a position to influence legislation and , quid pro quo, she does. That's not a problem?
Again, you're pro-American!?!? Not from where I sit. Maybe it's that you don't understand business, that I can excuse.
Clinton didn't do it first, by no stretch in the modern era has it been DONE like it is now by Bush, not even his father. Every administation had a
'carry over' from the private sector in the fox scenario. But Bush, it's IN EVERY DEPARTMENT!

From the Center for Public Integrity:
Overall, 22 of the top 100 Bush officials had significant holdings in 33 companies that lobbied their departments, agencies or offices.

--Overall, 20 of the top 100 officials in the Bush administration, including all department heads, work in departments, agencies or offices that
their former, private sector employers lobbied or from which they sought federal contracts in 2001.

I'm not American so please don't jump down my throat for critising the US system of government.You are all welcome to critise the UK system.God
knows it deserves it.

The US system appears to me to need a serious overhaul.I think it was Jefferson who said every constitution needs to be updated regulally.

1/Campaign funding.Serious limits must be put on campaign expenditure.The limits must be affordable so that the best candidate(even an Independent)can
enter a contest.

2/Political funding.Ultimately if citizens what democracy they are going to have to finance Political parties through taxation.This will work out
cheaper in the long run because government contracts will go to the best and cheapest bidder and not to a Senate campaign contributer.Television and
Radio stations can give a certain amount of time free to campaigners as part of their liscence agreements.

By just implementing these two improvements the US government will become more democratic and financially more efficient and independent of financial
influence.Government for the people by the people not government for the highest bidder.

1) Yeah they should take all that money that would normally be spent on unconstitutional EOs, and use it as a campaign finance for all candidates.

2) Yeah this is also a good idea!

Now to bash UK for no reason.

1)

Nevermind, we americans' know nothing of the rest of the world because we can't keep track of you all

You're lucky John BULL!

Although, that's a big point, we aren't as much arrogant, just as hey man, we can only learn so much about other nations too.

The whole world knows every little flaw about America, cause we're all over the news, and all...and we are just one nation, the whole world, is
covered more briefly in our news, and there are 179 nations to worry about.

So even when we try to learn about your nations...we still can't encompass much.

Also, I'm just thankful I was able to grow up in different parts of the world. It really helped me see things from different angles. I'm also glad
I spent some time in the middle east as a kid. Otherwise, I'd think that every Muslim was a gun-toting fanatic, based on their portrayal in our
media. (which of course, is false)

I really do wish global news was covered more here. Fact is, if you want to know, you have to go get it yourself here in the states....

69 - You mean you'd call the split of Enron largesse of 74% GOP, 26% Dem...equal!?! Or that Kenny Boy Lay gave the Bush team the Enron corporate jets
to use during campaign 2000? Or that he also paid in full for the Bush inaguration party? Or that several senior officials in his administration came
directly FROM ENRON!?!

LOL!! Everywhere I go, it seems that one guy here is making a career of taking shots at only republicans, and in specific, the president.
It seems pretty partisan to make note of any lobbyist power with Bush until you write a volume on Clinton's favorite lobbyist:
China.

If you say you aren't a liberal, I'll believe you, but I still see a huge imbalance in your fact finding and articles. It would seem you'd blindly
walk right past miles of liberal crap piles to find one conservative urine stain.

***Pssst, a hint: just weigh the writers language first, right after you gauge how many flights of fancy. Example: I never knew Texas elected a
declared Socialist to Congress!?! Texas!?!?

****

Java - let me get this straight: You see NOTHING WRONG with the above scenario? Instead of rightous indignation that the savior of the country from
Democrat control is asleep at the wheel when it comes to this sought of thing....it's more important to boil it down to dem V repub?
Since you've got a jones to call me the 'L' word, go ahead, call me a Libertarian! The GOP under Bush lost that vote too with all his crazy
spending!
And just to be fair, if I have to rattle off a Clinton list ( real or imaginary like Nyeff's stuff) in order to bash Bush's wrong doings, you guys
have to do the same with Dim Son when talking about the last elected president, ok?

Originally posted by Java
As far as being concerned about Bush being asleep at the wheel, what can I say? I've given up hope and am awaiting the end of the world!

Don't give up hope! There's so much he can be impeached for! Don't think for a second that the powers that drive his administration would even
hesitate for a second to play Brutus to his Ceasar should things start to unwrap. They needed an idiot & they got one with name regognition. It was
suppose to be Dan Qualye, but he just buried himself too deeply to be of any use.

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